Daily Links Aug 4

Hey Beetrooter, given the half-life of the waste a nuclear power station would generate, for how many thousand generations should those living nearby receive free power? When you’re under the pump on your piddling energy policies, run some creative mischief, for that’s all this is.

Analysis shows that while national-level economic growth and social development — including more women in government — are associated with more abundant wildlife, growing human populations are linked to wildlife decline.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor insists the moratorium on nuclear energy will remain in place, but asks the bipartisan Environment and Energy Committee to look at what would be needed for “any future government’s consideration” of the technology.

Pedestrian safety will be the focus of an extensive overhaul of the Southbank promenade, which will extend use of the space to the Yarra River’s edge. See the new measures that’ll force speeding cyclists to hit the brakes.

A study using data from Water NSW finds parts of the popular Hawkesbury-Nepean River is “susceptible to periods of elevated faecal contamination” yet the community is not being alerted to hazardous levels of contamination.

People think of electric scooters, or e-scooters, as environmentally friendly ways to get around town. But a new study from North Carolina State University finds it’s not that simple: shared e-scooters may be greener than most cars, but they can be less green than several other options.

A comparative analysis has shown that ‘indirect’ instruments, such as excise taxes on motor fuel and other energy taxes, did not yield any lesser impact than their ‘direct’ counterparts, and, over time, were even more effective.

Reintroducing airships into the world’s transportation-mix could contribute to lowering the transport sector’s carbon emissions and can play a role in establishing a sustainable hydrogen based economy. According to the authors of an IIASA-led study, these lighter-than-air aircraft could ultimately increase the feasibility of a 100% sustainable world.

Through its FABsoil project, the University of Plymouth — in partnership with the world famous Eden Project and businesses in Cornwall, such as the Green waste Company — is leading the quest to fabricate soils which could ultimately lead to the creation of custom-made, sustainable products across a range of locations and markets.

Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released the Status of US Fisheries Annual Report to Congress, which details the status of 479 federally-managed stocks or stock complexes in the US to identify which stocks are subject to overfishing, are overfished, or are rebuilt to sustainable levels.

An international collaboration led by scientists at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) , Japan, has found that hazardous chemicals were detected in plastics eaten by seabirds. This suggests that the seabird has been threatened by these chemicals once they eat plastics.

Analysis shows that while national-level economic growth and social development — including more women in government — are associated with more abundant wildlife, growing human populations are linked to wildlife decline.